How to Start an AuthorTube Channel – Marketing for Authors

So you wanna be an AuthorTuber. If you saw last week’s blog post, then you know I talked about why you should join AuthorTube. Since you now know why you should join the AuthorTube Community, it’s time to talk about what you need to do to grow a following. Being an author on YouTube is really fun, not to mention it’s a great way to find a community of people who will support you and your books, and inspire you to keep writing. Let’s jump into it!

Create an AuthorTube Channel

The first thing you need to do is to create a YouTube channel. If you have a Google account, then you’ll already have one. Make sure your username is either your name/pen name. If you have an odd username that has nothing to do with your author name or your books, you’ll regret it.

Upload Writing Related Videos

Once you have your channel set up you can start making YouTube videos. You don’t need anything fancy to create a YouTube video, just a camera. If you really wanted to, you could make your videos using your phone. If you want to learn how I film my YouTube videos, let me know in the comments below!

Your first few YouTube videos aren’t going to be the best. You’ll have a learning curb when you first start filming and that’s okay! Start off by talking about who you are and what you’re writing. When you feel yourself getting more comfortable in front of the camera start doing complex videos. AuthorTube is all about teaching. We’re here to teach you how to write, publish and be successful with your books, so if you want to start your own AuthorTube channel, those are the types of videos you want to film. Like I said in my last blog post, these are the topics you’ll be basing your videos around:

How to write a book

How to self-publish a book

How to traditionally publish a book

You’ll be tempted to do videos outside of this realm, but if you want to see your AuthorTube channel thrive, these topics are your best bet when you start off.

Interact With Other AuthorTubers

When you first start creating videos, no one will know you exist. The only way to let people know you’re out there and you’re making amazing videos is to interact with other AuthorTubers. Watch and comment on their videos. Make friends! That’s what this community is all about, so don’t get too absorbed into your subscriber or view count. Here are some of my favorite AuthorTubers:

If you get comments on your videos, you can celebrate! But also reply! Show your followers that you care and that you’re listening!

Collaborate!

Once you become someone who can create great videos, it’s time to start teaming up with other AuthorTubers. Contact them through Twitter, Instagram or YouTube and see if they would be interested in doing a collab. Have a list of topic ideas and see what they think! Doing a collab benefits both AuthorTubers, because you’ll both be reaching a new audience.

And that’s all there is to it! If you have an AuthorTube channel, let me know! I’d love to check it out!

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1 Comment

Thanks for sharing this, I didn’t even realize that AuthorTube was a thing, but it’s great to know there is a community of authors out there helping each other!
I just started my Youtube channel a few weeks ago, so this was helpful to know!
All my best!